The invention relates to a system for moving loads, which is suitable in particular for use in a cargo compartment of an aircraft. The invention also relates to a cargo compartment equipped with such a system, and to the use of such a system and/or cargo compartment in an aircraft.
Loads to be transported in cargo or passenger aircraft are usually stored in standardized containers or on standardized pallets, known as unit load devices (ULDs). To be able to displace the ULDs in the cargo compartment, roller tracks are usually integrated into a floor of the cargo compartment, which, depending on the design, allow the ULDs to be moved in a directionally dependent or directionally independent manner. A cargo compartment equipped with such roller tracks is described in EP 1 527 993 B1, for example. The ULDs can be displaced manually on the roller tracks. Alternatively, an electric drive system comprising power drive units (PDUs) can be provided in or next to the roller tracks, allowing the ULDs to be displaced automatically in the cargo compartment.
As an alternative or in addition to potential PDUs, it is furthermore known to provide transport vehicles that enable a displacement of the ULDs along the roller tracks and parallel to the cargo compartment floor. Such transport vehicles essentially only absorb the reaction forces or forces of inertia that occur during the displacement of the ULDs, while the considerably higher gravitational forces are borne by the roller tracks.
Such a solution is known from DE 10 2013 003 849 A1, for example, in which a transport vehicle is positioned beneath a load arranged on the roller tracks. Thereafter, a platform of the transport vehicle is raised so as to establish contact with the load and enable a displacement. Furthermore, from U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,292 A and DE 2 735 737 A1, transport vehicles displaceable by way of external cable winches are known, which can selectively be brought in contact with a load arranged on the roller tracks so as to displace the load parallel to the cargo compartment floor.